Lines Unbroken
by Ebony10
Summary: Post- The Long Blue Line. Who forced Lil off the road? Scotty vows to himself to protect her. L/S
1. Miracles

Takes place after Long Blue Line (is that the name?). It will be multiple chapters. I don't know anything about doctors or hospitals so let's pretend it makes sense, shall we?

Lines Unbroken

Chapter One: Miracles

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Scotty paced the hospital hallway, waiting for the doctor to finish. Behind that door was the most important woman in his life. His best friend. He leaned his back against the wall beside the door, letting out a breath.

That call had shaved about ten years off his life. Screeching tires, grinding metal, her scared and involuntary cries.

Thank God there had been witnesses who had seen a car go off the bridge and called for help immediately. Thank God there had been a unit nearby and an ambulance pulled over for dinner in a close parking lot. Thank God Lil had made it out of the car on her own, even if she then had to be pulled out of the water, unconscious.

Thank God the CPR had worked.

Scotty vowed that he'd go with his mother to church on his next free Sunday and light a candle. He figured it was the least he could do for all the miracles that had occurred tonight. The door next to him creaked open and Scotty's head jerked up.

"Well? How is she?" Scotty's urgency was not lost on the doctor. He had seen this often—distraught family members, lovers, colleagues.

"She'll pull through. She's a bit shaken up, but she wasn't out for too long before the resuscitation brought her back so no damage to the brain or extremities. She has a nasty head wound, but no sign of a concussion. Still, I don't recommend any strenuous work for at least the next forty-eight hours," the doctor finished seriously. So often these cops thought they could hop back on the job. If there legs were crushed and they weren't bleeding from an open wound, they must be fine for work. Yeah, right. And the doctors were the ones who had to fix 'em up when they only exacerbated the problem. Damn stubborn cops.

Scotty nodded. "Don't worry, Doc. There's no way she's goin' back to work sooner than that. Ain't gonna happen."

Gazing at the earnest gaze of the man in front of him, the doctor thought that he may have met the first rational cop ever. 'Of course,' he thought wryly, sarcastically, 'it _couldn't_ be because of the feelings this man so obviously has for her. No, not at all.'

"You're free to go in. The nurse will be in soon to give her a quick look over and then she's welcome to be discharged as long as she has someone who can keep an eye on her for the rest of the night. Otherwise, she stays here under observation." The doctor nodded his goodbye and started down the hall, only to be halted by Scotty's voice.

"Doc?" The older gentleman turned around with a small sigh, expecting a barrage of questions. Another thing about cops: they were nosy. Had to know everything about everything. "Thanks for all of your help."

The tired medical professional watched as the young detective offered a small smile and entered the room that held his blond partner. Suddenly he felt a bit lighter. It had been a long time since anyone had thanked him for doing his job. It was easy to forget the work of an ER doctor—so often the family members were so upset at the emergency or the diagnosis that the doctors simply slipped through the cracks.

But that man—he wracked his brain to remember his name...oh yes, Detective Valens—had been so grateful for the well being of his partner. He turned and continued down the hallway. It was good to feel appreciated sometimes.

Inside the room, Scotty reached for Lil's hand. She opened her eyes at the contact and gave a slight smile. "Hey."

Scotty grinned teasingly back, just so _happy_ to see her alive and breathing. "Ain't that supposed to come before ya end up in the hospital?"

She gave a startled laugh that came out more as a gust of air. "Timing must be off."

He sobered, looking at her pale face. Her eyes were open and aware. He could see the rise and fall of the paper hospital gown resting against her chest. Her hand was slowly warming within his own. He tenderly brushed a piece of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Timing's just right."

He could tell that his comment made her a bit uncomfortable, but dammit! He had almost lost her. Again. What the hell was he supposed to do? Smile and move on with life? Her hand twitched and he knew she was only seconds from pulling it away from his. Rather than deal with her rejection, he beat her to it and let go. Standing, he reached for his cell phone to see if he had a signal. He had to do something with his hands so he wouldn't feel the acute loss of contact with her. Damn. No signal. He sighed.

"Let's just tell them tomorrow, Scotty. Okay?" He turned back to Lil. He knew she was talking about the rest of the team. Though he knew he'd be pissed beyond belief if they didn't call him in this situation, Lil just looked so worn out that he agreed wordlessly, simply nodding. She couldn't handle the team bombarding her tonight. And they definitely would. Family didn't rest until they were sure their own was okay.

And that's what the cold case team was—family.

The nurse bustled in and fussed over Lilly until her answers became less pleasant and more irritable. Scotty restrained a smirk. Prickly Lil was pretty damn cute. The bubbly nurse finally stepped back. Scotty almost expected her to clap her hands together in excitement, but to his disappoint she merely made some notations on her clipboard. "Okay, sweetie. You're clear to go as long as you have someone who'll sign you out."

Lil glowered a bit. "I'm an adult. Legally, I don't need anyone to sign me out but myself."

The nurse looked nonplussed at her patient's response. Scotty took pity and jumped in. "True, but the boss ain't gonna let you work unless you have the full sign off from the doc. And the doc ain't gonna sign off unless you cooperate."

He didn't need to say more. Lilly deflated a bit.

"Fine," she muttered, looking up at him. "Scotty, would you..."

She trailed off and he grinned at her. "Thought ya'd never ask."

Signing the nurse's clipboard, he watched Lil swing her legs over the side of the bed. She looked down at her lovely frock and frowned, looking back up at her partner. "What am I supposed to wear home?"

He laughed. "I like that. What? You got a problem wit' it?"

She glared. The nurse smiled gently and pointed out that her clothes were dry and folded on the chair. Lilly looked at them in bemusement. Did hospitals have dryers? Shrugging the thought away, she stood to make her way across the room. Scotty beat her to it, grabbing up the clothes and bringing them back to her before she could take a single step. She sighed and accepted them from his hands. And the hovering starts…

He left her to dress while he waited in the hallway once more. Now that he knew she would be alright, he let his mind wander. Who had forced her off the bridge? Someone from PMI? The same guy who killed Kate?

His hands clenched, forming fists. Whoever it was, they weren't getting a second shot at Lil. He'd make sure of it.


	2. Family

By the way, thanks to FloatingAmoeba for the encouragement to write this story! I probably won't finish by tomorrow evening so you'll have to ignore part two for the purpose of this story. Ooh, yay! New episode tomorrow!

Chapter Two: Family

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Scotty closed his cell phone with a sigh. They had barely made it to Lil's before his phone started ringing. It had been Stillman, calling when he couldn't get through to Lilly. Someone from headquarters had finally called him to let him know about the situation.

To say that the boss had been pissed was an understatement. Lil entered the living room, wearing yoga pants and a tank top. "What did he say?"

"Asked why I didn't call him earlier," Scotty answered grimly, then smirked at her. "I blamed you."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks, partner."

"Anytime."

There was a moment of silence as her two cats wound themselves about his legs, curious. He slid his hands into his pockets and forced himself to look away from her. It probably wasn't normal to stare at your partner like you wanted to memorize everything about her. Nope, not normal. She spoke first.

"Look, Scotty, you can head home. I'll be fine." She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Scotty's gaze was back on her face in seconds, eyes narrowed.

"Nice try, Lil. I'm stayin'." He flopped to the couch, looking up at her with a cheeky grin, trying to lighten the situation. He didn't want her to feel cornered. "Got an extra pillow?"

She gave an exasperated sigh. "Yeah. Give me a minute."

Scotty stood as she left the room, slipping off his shoes and coat, unbuttoning his dress shirt. He had always liked being in Lil's row house—not that he was there often. There was just something about being surrounded by her things, her scent. It was calming. It made him feel good, stable.

It felt like home.

Lil came back, dumping a pile of pillows and blankets on the couch. "Night, Scotty."

"Night, Lil."

Scotty was exhausted. It had been a long day.

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The next morning, nothing Scotty could say would get Lilly to stay home. So they headed to the office, Scotty feeling a little wary. He couldn't help feeling paranoid, like someone was out to get Lil. The two of them stepped into an empty elevator and he silently hit the number for their floor. The doors started to close only to be stopped when a hand shot between them. A breathless Frankie scurried into the lift with them. Scotty fidgeted a bit, unconsciously moving a bit closer to Lil.

Frankie's face showed a bit of surprise as she observed them, then smiled a bit tensely. "Scotty."

She paused just long enough for it to be awkward before turning to Lilly. "Detective Rush."

Lilly nodded in response and, when Frankie turned forward, she raised a brow at Scotty, slightly amused at his discomfort. Frankie got out a floor before theirs. After the doors shut, Lil glanced at him one more. He shot her an irritated look.

"What?'

She laughed. "I didn't say anything, dollface."

She winked at his grimace and continued. "Your own fault, Scotty."

"Yeah, next time I'll be sure to stay away from the clingy married ones," he retorted. He sighed. "Actually, there will not be a next time."

The doors opened and she breezed ahead of him. "Sure there won't be."

He stepped out after her and watched as the team surrounded her. Kat reached up to finger the bandage on Lilly's head. "Wow, girl. Someone has it out for you."

Lil shrugged. "Or maybe they just don't want us to look too closely into Kate's murder. Let me tell you what I've figured out."

Heading to Scotty's desk, she pulled out the copies of PMI's logs and the letters (thank God they had made multiples as the rest had turned to mush when her car filled with water). Quickly pointing out what she discovered last night, she brought the team up to speed on her findings.

Stillman cut in. "Okay, guys. We have something else to add to our to-do list. We gotta find Kate's doer and whoever drove Lil off the road last night. If they're related to PMI, I want to know."

The team nodded, understanding just how close they had come to losing Lil once more. The small moment of silence was broken by a flurry of movement as the team flew into action.

They were going to find out who threatened their family.


	3. Romeo

Okay, from here on out the case will alternately line up with and veer away from the way it went down on the last episode. This is an alternative ending of sorts. Maybe two more chapters after this one. This is basically some ground work for what's coming up—hopefully the characters aren't too OOC, though I suspect they are. Thanks for the reviews!!

Also, who was the guy who helped Ryan hide Kate's body, etc? I can't remember his name or rank for the life of me so in this chapter he is "Corporal." I'd appreciate any info on him!

Chapter Three: Romeo

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Lil rubbed her eyes tiredly as she leaned against her desk. Earlier that morning, the call about Gardner's alleged suicide had come in. She and Scotty had figured out pretty easily that it was a set up. Now, they had to find the murderer of Kate Butler _and_ Lawrence Gardner. If the heavens were smiling on the PPD, it would be the same perp.

"You okay?"

She looked up into Scotty's concerned face and smiled wanly. "Sure."

His expression indicated his disbelief and he would have pushed the issue, but Vera interrupted.

"There's a gas station less than half a mile from the bridge with no turn off between them. Lucky us, the owner is paranoid and camera happy. Gotta bring the footage down for analysis. Wanna do it, Scotty?" Vera raised a brow suggestively. Scotty sighed.

"No way, man," he replied and Lilly's smile became more real, filled with amusement.

"Juliet here is avoiding the overeager Romeo," she added dryly. Vera chuckled and Scotty looked outraged. Vera and Lil, noting this with great satisfaction, continued their own discussion.

"I can do it if you want, Vera." She straightened up in her seat, ready to stand if need be. Vera shrugged.

"Nah, I got it. Just thought I'd give Juliet here a chance to be wooed." Vera winked at them before heading toward the elevator.

"Ha ha," Scotty called sarcastically. Lil laughed. He turned to glare at her. "Why do I gotta be the girl?"

His voice was dangerously close to a whine and it only made Lil laugh harder as she answered. "Must be your pretty face."

Her teasing died down a bit as she gazed at him thoughtfully before continuing. "And there's this...I don't know, predatory quality about Frankie. Makes it more believable to think about her in control."

She grinned cheekily. "Makes it believable to think of her wearing the pants."

Scotty straightened suddenly and turned, jogging to catch up to Vera who was still waiting for the ancient elevator. Lilly curiously watched the brief exchange. Vera nodded brusquely, just barely glancing in her direction before entering the lift, which had finally made it to their floor. Scotty returned to her, looking a bit grim.

"Uh, care to share what all that was about, _partner_?" Lilly asked, emphasizing the last word in hopes that it would prod him to let her in on whatever was going on between him and Vera. Scotty shook himself and smiled. Predictably, his attempt to hide his feelings was weak. The man really needed to work on his acting skills, she thought absently.

"Nothin'. Just, ah, remembered somethin' I had to tell him," Scotty finished quickly. "So, ready to question James Addison on his relationship with Kate?"

Lil decided to let it drop for now. "More than ready."

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Only hours later, Ryan had confessed to killing Kate. Something wasn't adding up though and it made Lil uneasy. Kat and Will brought him in and stuck him in an interrogation room before convening with the rest of the group around Vera's desk. Kat spoke first.

"Okay, none of the PMI suburbans seem to have any surface or structural damage that would be consistent with the kind of car on car contact necessary to force someone off a bridge."

"And, on top of that, none of them were checked out last night," Will added. "Security footage confirmed."

"So if it was someone from PMI, it was a personal car," Lilly concluded.

"Speaking of security footage, Frankie says that the gas station camera aimed at the street had some significant issues as in something like water damage to the electrical circuits or some kind of mumbo jumbo like that. Point is, no usable footage for the time when Lil was driving by," Vera finished. He and Scotty exchanged a significant look. "Still have one more thing to check up on with the tapes, though, so we might get something yet."

Stillman, quiet until this point, nodded. "Good work. Keep on the tapes, Vera. Will, Kat, I need you to go back to PMI and pick up the Corporal. Scotty, Lil, get Rhianna to sing."

Lil smiled resolutely, the infamous ice-queen assuming her cold crown. "Don't worry, boss. He'll be able to give canaries lessons by the time we're done with him."


	4. Man Killer

Okay, I can't remember all the lines/people from the ep so let's pretend that this is relatively accurate. My own take on how the episode could have gone down. Sorry the updates are taking so long. This quarter is getting really crazy. Sigh. Thanks for all of the reviews so far!!

Chapter Four: Man Killer

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The case was closed. Ryan had sung like a drunk at a karaoke bar. The smarmy corporal had played tough, but they were going to nail him for homicide and accessory to homicide.

The only thing that wasn't accounted for was Lil's accident.

Lilly stood from her desk and grabbed her coat. "I'm heading home."

Scotty looked up from the papers in his hands. "If you wait ten minutes, I'll give you a lift. I don't know if you should be alone."

Lil rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it, Scotty. I have a gun. I know how to use it."

"But—"

"I'll be _fine_," she said emphatically, cutting off his protests. "See you tomorrow."

On her way to the elevator, she stopped to chat with Kat for a moment. Scotty watched her. He couldn't seem to hold back. All day he had found himself studying her, taking her in as if she were the very oxygen his body needed to exist. He sighed.

"Problems, Juliet?"

"God, you're never gonna let that go, are ya?" Scotty turned to Vera, who was grinning with an unholy amount of glee.

"Nope." The stocky detective held up a video. "Got a copy of the tape. Wanna see if Frankie was right?"

Scotty stood eagerly and they headed to the department's TV in the breakroom—surprisingly equipped with VHS and DVD. Huh. Apparently, they could shell out money for an entertainment center to catch the games on, but they couldn't get a goddamn copy machine that would work. As they pushed the tape in, Vera spoke again.

"Why'd we make a copy of the tape before giving it to Frankie? Don't trust your gal, Scotty?" Vera settled on the couch, wishing he had some popcorn. Or a donut. Or a piece of pizza. Yeah, gooey cheese with the works. Yep, somewhere out there was a pizza delivery man who would be paying Vera a visit tonight.

Scotty watched the black and white scene on the screen. "Not my gal, Vera. I want nothin' to do with her now."

"Huh. Bet she just _loved_ that," Vera remarked sarcastically. His words reminded Scotty of what Frankie had told him when he had shot her down.

"_You're making a mistake, Scotty. A very bad mistake."_

He was brought back to the present when Lil's car drove across the scene. He couldn't see her, but he knew her car. And unexpectedly, the quality of the tape was pretty clear. He could actually make out her license plate—not that he knew what her plate numbers were by heart, but still.

Vera leaned forward, watching the TV avidly. A large suburban followed a moment later, dark and ominous on the screen. "Write down the plate numbers."

"Way ahead of you, Vera," Scotty replied, scribbling on a scrap of paper and hurrying to his desk. Vera leaned over his shoulder as the numbers were put into the system. After several long seconds of searching, it finally found a result. Reading it, Scotty tensed. No way…

"What the hell?!" Vera burst out.

"What's your problem?" Kat asked. Scotty looked up at her, in a bit of a stupor. His brow furrowed.

"Where's Lil?"

"On the way to the first floor probably. Ran into that Frankie you were seeing in the elevator. Might catch a ride from her. Don't know why she offered one to Lil, though. Frankie's not the kind that makes girlfriends," Kat shrugged. "She's a man killer."

Scotty didn't even hear Kat's last sentence. He was already running for the stairs. The elevator would take too long. Kat raised a delicate brow. "What's his issue?"

Vera answered. "We got the plates of the person who ran Lil off the road."

"What? Seriously? Did you run them through the system?" Kat's barrage of questions greeted Vera's response. He nodded, gesturing to the screen where one name was still on the pop-up box. "_Her?_ It was Frankie?"

"Guess she's not just a man killer."


	5. Silence

Sorry that it's taking so long for this story! Thanks for sticking with it. And for all of the reviews!! I posted as soon as I finished so let me know if there are any mistakes!

Chapter Five: Silence

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Scotty burst out of the stairwell into the lobby, calling to the guards at the front desk. "Hey, Joe! You seen Lil?"

"Yeah, she and that hottie from the fifth floor headed to the parking garage."

"Shit!" Ignoring the curious stares, he headed straight for the cold, dark garage, hoping he would make it in time.

He expected a chase. A big showdown. To find Lil injured...or worse.

When he skidded into the parking garage, he collided with a warm body. Impatiently, he looked down, ready to move the person to the side and continue on his search for Lil. Instead he was confronted with the brilliantly blue eyes of his partner, the very person he had been looking for. "Lil?! You okay?"

She took a deep breath, steadying herself, and nodded. "I'm fine. Frankie just flipped out on me, Scotty. She—"

Scotty cut in. "Yeah, we know. She ran your car off the bridge. She attack you? Hurt you?"

He seemed to be unaware that he was running his hands across her shoulders, down her arms and back up again. "Weirdest thing, Scotty. She seemed to think that me and you have a—a thing. Kept going on about me being the reason you were making such a bad mistake. Then she tried to choke me. Of course, I took her down, but that woman has got some claws."

She reached up and lightly fingered her throat. For the first time, Scotty realized that there were light red marks along the delicate skin of her throat as well as some scratches and dots of blood. His warm fingers replaced hers, gently caressing her skin. "God, Lil. I'm sorry."

Lilly rolled her eyes at him playfully. "You should be. Can't you choose any nice quiet types? Librarians are reserved. Maybe you should try one. I don't think they'll lose it and attack your partner."

A side of his mouth kicked up at her teasing, but he didn't laugh like she had expected. His intense gaze bore down into her face and she shifted, feeling self-conscious. A burst of movement behind Scotty brought them back to reality and Lil stepped back.

Kat had her gun drawn and looked ready to take care of business. Vera's fierceness was downplayed somewhat by his gasping for breath, clearly winded from the run down the stairs. Kat inventoried Lil's condition, noting the developing bruises on her neck. "Where is she?"

Scotty shuffled his feet, a little embarrassed. He hadn't even thought of that. Honestly, he hadn't thought much further beyond Lil's safety. But, now that it was mentioned, where _was_ Frankie?

Lil answered the question. "Handcuffed to a wall pipe by her car. Over three rows. She was unconscious when I left her."

Kat headed in the direction that Lil pointed, giving her an approving look as she passed. "You go, girl."

Vera limped after her, grumbling about a stitch in his side. Lilly rubbed her eyes tiredly as she turned back to Scotty, who was once again staring at her. She sighed. Great. Now he'd powered up a level on the overprotective meter. Just what she needed. Ugh. She bet he had a healthy dash of guilt, too—for dating her latest attacker.

"Come on, Scotty. I want to give my statement as quickly as possible and then you're taking me home."

Somehow, it was comforting to Scotty that Lilly was taking the reins. Silently, he followed her back into the lobby and subsequently the elevator. As the doors were shutting, Lil spoke again.

"You know, staring is less creepy if you combine it with talking every once in a while."

Scotty knew he should say something flippant, lighthearted. He should go along with her teasing. But he nothing came to mind. All he could think of was how happy he was that she was fine. Like a broken record, his mind was remembering all of the times she had almost been taken from him. Each time, they had picked up the pieces (sometimes fewer than what they had started with) and went on the way they always did. Friends. Partners. Buddies.

Scotty wasn't sure if it was enough for him. Not anymore. He hadn't realized that he was still silently staring at her until her next words hit him.

"Oookay." She leaned tiredly against the wall of the elevator as it ascended to the correct floor. She quirked a brow at him. "Or you could continue staring me down without words. Always a comfortable situation. No, go ahead. Don't stop on my account or anything."

Something inside of him loosened and he found himself laughing, wanting to pull her close. Just when he was about to do so, the elevator doors opened to reveal Jeffries. The older detective gave them both an amused glance. "Can't leave you two alone for a moment, can I?"

As Scotty followed Lil out, he vowed that he'd do as she requested. He'd combine his staring with words.. Tonight. Later at her place.

He smiled smugly, all male machismo.

Oh yeah. They were definitely going to have some words.


	6. A Page Turner

It is unbelievable and unforgivable how insanely long it has taken me to update. I am so sorry! My only excuse is that this quarter has been awful (and is still not over!). I just wrote this and posted so let me know if there are any mistakes! Any quotes from previous eps are just approximates. I think I might do one more chapter, but if you all think it should end here I will bow to your superior reader knowledge. ;)

Chapter Six: A Page Turner

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"Lil, wake up. We're there."

Lilly's eyes opened and blinked sleepily at her partner. If Scotty didn't already love her, he was pretty sure that those baby blues looking up at him like that would make him fall for her. Hard. As it was, he was finding it difficult not to press a kiss to her soft lips and _really_ wake her up.

"Wow. Sorry I fell asleep on you, Scotty," she said, a bit surprised as she unbuckled her seatbelt. He smirked at her.

"Never had that complaint before," he said and it was impossible to miss the connotations. She rolled her eyes at him as they climbed out of the car. He responded with waggling his brows in a comical leer. "We can work on that, you know. I got skills."

She laughed as they shut their respective car doors. "C'mon, hotshot. I'll give you a cup of coffee before you go home. Least I can do."

He watched as she preceded him up the sidewalk, her normal stride making her hips sway just enough to drive him crazy as she dug through her bag for her keys. He mentally groaned. _Trust me, Lil,_ he thought, _I'll take whatever you're offering._

Upon entering her row house, Lil dumped her bag on the table by the entrance. "Make yourself at home, Scotty."

Scotty went into the living room as she disappeared into the kitchen. As he sat petting one of her cats—Olivia, who seemed to have an unusual affection for him—he realized that he didn't want to go home. He didn't want to be in his bachelor apartment tonight. He had come close yet _again_ to losing Lil and he wasn't quite ready to let her so far out of his sight. In fact, maybe it was time they had a…chat. Resolutely, he headed to the kitchen (after giving Liv one last apologetic rub behind the ears). He leaned against the doorway, watching as Lil carefully stretched up to retrieve two mugs from the overhead cupboard.

"Feeling alright?"

She jumped slightly at his words, but kept hold of the mugs. She turned and smiled. "Yeah. Just a little sore."

Her words turned his inquisitive expression into a glower. She sighed and he spoke. "Sorry, Lil."

"Stop apologizing, Scotty. It's not your fault Frankie's crazy. And she hides it so well that half the building has been lusting after her for months. So don't beat yourself up for not noticing that she's unhinged," Lilly said firmly. He stepped closer to her.

"Shouldn't 'ave been wit' her anyway," he said softly, seriously. Not knowing how to respond to that, she turned to pour coffee into the mugs. She felt movement behind her and set the coffee pot down, turning around once more. Scotty was now only a few steps away, looking at her expectantly.

"Everyone wants to be with someone, Scotty. It's okay," she said finally. He shook his head.

"Yeah, I want to be with someone, but not just anyone. A specific someone," he added, gaze intent on her face. She thought over his words. A specific someone? Who?

Her thoughts settled. Elissa. She knew it still hurt Scotty, but she had hoped that he could move forward and be happy. Heaven knew one of them deserved it. Scotty watched her face and knew when her thoughts detoured from where he hoped they would go. He sighed. For a detective, she sure could be dense in certain situations. Was it really that hard to believe that he had romantic feelings for her?

"Not Elissa, Lil." He took another step forward and she was suddenly uncomfortable. She needed space or she couldn't maintain her aloof façade. She couldn't keep him at arm's length if he was so close. One more step had him within an inch of her body. She pressed back against the counter, ready to escape at a moment's notice. "Not Frankie."

Carefully, deliberately, Scotty leaned a hand on the counter on either side of her, closing off any escape routes. She had two choices: stay within the circle of his arms or risk bodily contact to push past him. Honestly, her reserve was too shaky to come so close to him. She had done an admirable job keeping him compartmentalized in the partner section of her life. Sure, she had felt that frisson of awareness around him. Too often. But she didn't want to ruin one of the best things in her life. And all of her romantic relationships had been just that: ruined. Going by her track record, it was not a good idea to get involved with Scotty. Not if she wanted to keep him in her life.

"Scotty," she said, at once warning and pleading in that vulnerable way of hers. For a moment, he almost acquiesced, retreating to let her hold strong in her comfort zone.

Then he remembered the look of her slouched against the wall of the observation room, blood flowering across the fabric of her shirt. He remembered how fragile she had looked when she had stepped out of the "woods." He remembered how small she had looked yesterday, swimming in the hospital gown that was too large for her.

He remembered how short life was. How he hadn't had enough time for a full life with Elissa. How he wanted nothing more than a full life with Lil.

He steeled his nerves, promising not to let Lil push him away because she was scared.

"I want to be wit' you, Lilly Rush."

Her breath caught in her throat. She hadn't expected him to say it. She had expected things to go back to normal. Ignoring the attraction that sometimes flared between them. How was she supposed to ignore what he had just said?

Her blue eyes stared at him, regretful. "Oh, Scotty…"

He gave her that one-sided smile. "Not quite the tone I was goin' for, Lil."

She stood there, surrounded by his warmth, but she had never felt colder. "I don't want to lose you. You're my best friend."

He sighed and his hands slid from the counter to her back, pulling her flush against his body and burying his face in her hair. It felt good to hold her. Good to be upfront with her. Good to not have to hide. "Lil, I know you think that if we do something about this…this _thing_ between us, then it'll eventually fade and we'll lose each other when it's over. I know you well enough to know that's what you're thinking so don't even try to deny it."

His words surprised a small, slightly hysterical laugh out of her. She burrowed closer to him, rubbing her cheek almost unconsciously against his chest. "Yeah. And I don't think I can lose someone else. Someone as important to me as you are."

His hold tightened at her words. "Lil. I'm tired of hiding it. I could kid us both an' say that we could go back and pretend like there's nothing more than friendship for us, but eventually _that_ will destroy our relationship. I can't stand you wit' other guys. Like Eddie? Ugh. Please. Like that guy is good enough for you. An' if you feel even half of what I feel for you, then me wit' other women must be just as bad."

She refused to answer and he breathed in the scent of her shampoo. "I don't even wanna be wit' 'em. I just want you. They were just a way to try and let you keep control of what's between us, but I can't anymore, Lil. Life's too short to hide from each other."

His warm hands moved up her back, burning her in their wake. God, this is why he couldn't touch her. It made her never want to leave his arms. Gently, he lifted her chin, holding her face between his hands.

"Please, Lil. You trust my competence everyday at work with your life. Trust me with more. Trust _me._" He leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes, nuzzling his nose softly against hers. Their breath mingled between them. She closed her eyes, too.

Could she? Could she trust him not to leave? Trust _them_ to not destroy each other or their relationship?

Suddenly, she was a little girl again. Listening to her dad tell her that he was leaving. Waiting every night for him to come back. Helping her mom back onto the couch. Cleaning vomit off the floor. Getting food for Chrissy.

Huddling alone in her bed every night. Just like she did now. Alone.

And when she imagined her life differently—not alone—it wasn't Joseph or Ray or Eddie that she saw. It was Scotty.

Because he had been there for the last five years (almost six). They had fought. They had disagreed. But he was still there. He had seen some of the uglier parts of her. Some of the more pathetic parts of her.

But he had stayed. With the cold case team. With her.

"Hey." It was a whisper, but in the stillness between them it was crystal clear. He pulled back and she opened her eyes.

"Hey?" He asked hopefully. His words floated back to them.

"_You ever need me, just say 'hey' and I'll be there."_

"I need you, Scotty." She said earnestly. Nervously. "More than I want to, but I do. And I'm ready to trust you."

She caught sight of his brief grin before his lips were on hers, at first soft and passionate before turning hot and hard. And, just as Scotty had expected, she gave as good as got.

Later, bodies cuddled on the couch, fully clothed, Scotty stared up at the ceiling while Lil slept.

Okay. So he'd start with trust. He could do that. But he would make damn sure that they would end up on the same page.

Because for him, it was nothing less than love.


	7. Waiting

Again, I am sooooo sorry about the delay. Looks like this may be a bit longer than expected. I don't think I'm feeling like writing my first smut chappie so don't expect it, but don't be surprised if I change my mind. Hope you like it!

Chapter Seven: Waiting

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Scotty had never felt this way before. Not even with Elissa. Their relationship had been one where they were settled into it, nurtured it since childhood. And in a way, they had never had a chance to let it really grow because they had never really grown themselves. Somewhere inside there had always been that part of them that remembered the other's youth, even if they didn't quite remember it themselves. Scotty had sometimes wondered if that had been part of their problems. No matter what, with Lil things were different. As intense, but somehow less stressful. Exciting. Exhilarating. Wonderful.

He parked his car in front of Lil's and headed for the front door, sifting through the keys on his ring as he searched for the one that unlocked her front door. He smiled smugly.

He had a key to Lilly Rush's house.

Over the last five months, he and Lil had moved slowly in some ways, but quickly in others. They hadn't moved further than cuddling and heavy petting, but he had never felt more..._intimate_ with someone in his entire life.

So he could wait. No need to rush the physical aspect of their relationship. If she needed time, that's what she would get.

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She didn't know how much longer she could wait. It was driving her crazy!

Scotty had been great since that night he had pushed her out of her comfort zone. Sure, they disagreed. They fought. But never had they stayed mad for more than a day. His temper didn't irritate her (much) and he was different with her than he had been with most women. The flirtatiousness was there, but not so flippant. Not so casual.

Sometimes it scared her how much she liked it. How much she was getting used to it. And when she thought about it—really _thought_ about it—she was absolutely terrified at what would happen if they didn't make it.

Scotty knew she was nervous sometimes and he was great about giving her space. She laughed to herself a bit. Often, she felt like he was gentling a wild animal and the wild animal was her. She grinned, picturing him in boots and a cowboy hat. Yep, that was a keeper.

She just wished he wasn't so _gentle_ all the time. Making out on her couch, but pulling away and just holding her close. It was nice, but she was ready for the next step. In fact, she _needed_ the next step. She wondered if he wanted to take that part real slow to make it different from his flings with others. With Alex and Frankie, he had jumped into the sex. Lil wondered if he was wanting to do things a bit more old-fashioned for them. If that's what he wanted, then she would try her damnedest to hold out and wait for him to make the move when he was ready.

But seriously, if he didn't make a move soon, she was going to jump him. She groaned as she leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She glanced at her watch, sighing. She should probably leave. Scotty had left two hours ago to stop at the store before heading to her house. Movie night.

Great, Another night of up close cuddling. Another night of sexual tension with no release. Ugh.

He was probably wondering where she was. She stood, lifting her jacket from the chair behind her. Well, she'd have to keep her space tonight. No way could she test her willpower that way. Nope. If there was any hope of waiting, then there'd have to be minimal touching. She nodded resolutely. Yes. That was the plan.

Play keep away without letting him in on her feelings She didn't want to hurt him or pressure him.

Even if it was taking five months for Scotty and her to do what only took a matter of days with other women. She sighed as she left the office.

It was going to be a long night.


	8. Candles

Okay, potentially the final chapter. I may, at some time, come back and try my hand at something more…explicit. But not now. Here ya go. No offense meant by anything and I hope you've enjoyed the story.

This chapter is dedicated to Floating Amoeba as a wedding gift! Congrats!!

Chapter Eight: Candles

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Lilly opened the door to her house. It was nice—really nice—to come home to the sounds of someone else moving around comfortably. To know that someone would miss her if she didn't come home. It was one of the few things she had liked about Chris living with her. She shook her head, pushing those thoughts away. Not helpful.

Scotty appeared in front of her as she was slipping off her coat. "What? No 'honey, I'm home'?"

She smirked at him. "You'll have to earn that."

He grinned, moving forward and crowding her space. Slipping his arms around her waist, he leaned in and nuzzled her neck. She felt his warm breath against her skin and fought back a groan. He skimmed his lips up her neck to graze them across her delicate jaw line.

Not good. This was not good, Lil thought to herself. Okay, well it _was_ good, but not if she wanted to help Scotty keep it clean. Besides, he was going to pull away in a minute and then she'd just be even more frustrated.

He moved to plant a soft kiss on her lips, but she sidestepped, putting her coat in the closet and heading for the kitchen. He stood in the front hallway, holding air and wondering what had just happened.

He followed her to see her pouring the popcorn he had made into a bowl. She looked up at him and smiled. "The popcorn smells great."

He just watched her for a moment. Okay. He nodded, taking it from her. "Grab the drinks, Lil. Would ya?"

After doing so, she trailed after him to the living room where the movie was already in the DVD player, just waiting for them. She set the drinks on the coffee table and turned to the couch, where Scotty was lounging against the armrest. She hesitated for a bare moment before plopping down on the opposite end. Scotty's relaxed position disappeared and he sat straight up, brow furrowing.

"Okay, Lil. Spill. What's up?"

"Nothing." Her hands fidgeted nervously. He reached over to still them and was surprised when she flinched away. What the hell?

"That ain't nothin', Rush."

"Drop it, Scotty. Can we please just watch the movie?"

He felt his temper stirring. God, why couldn't she just fuckin' talk to him?

"Why can't you just fuckin' _talk_ to me?"

He had never been good at holding his anger inside.

She bristled, growing rigid. "Maybe because there's nothing to fucking talk about, Scotty."

She glowered at him and he glared back, body tense and poised for attack. He'd like to tell himself that hers was poised for attack, too, but it seemed more likely that she was poised to flee. Fight or flight. Despite appearances, he knew that she didn't like to fight at home. She had enough strife at work.

That was true, but he just wanted her to open up. To trust him, like she had said she was ready to. He sighed, the fight draining out of him.

"What the hell are we fightin' about?"

She remained stiff for a moment more before following his lead. She sank back against the couch, tilting her head to look at the ceiling. "Your lack of anger management?"

He let out a light laugh at her smart-ass comment, determined to take it at face value—not as a barb. He mimicked her, staring at the pale yellow paint that adorned her ceiling. Tentatively, he reached over and took her hand, gaze never moving. It was like he could find her in the dark. "Our lack of communication skills?"

She sighed, knowing that she couldn't put this off or lie. It was hard, being in a relationship, but she wanted this to work. She was going to make it work.

"It's just hard sometimes, Scotty."

He felt as if she had just sucker punched him. It was hard? What? Being with him?

"I know you want to take this slow and I'm trying to respect that. Really, I am. But if that's what you want, then I can't cuddle with you all the time. I know they call me Ice Queen at work, but a girl's control can only last so long."

He almost gave himself whiplash turning to look at her. "What?!"

She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. No pressure. We can wait until you're ready. I just wanted to let you know that's the reason for…well…for this."

She used her free hand to gesture between them, still not meeting his gaze.

Scotty felt the unbelievable urge to laugh. _That's_ what this was about? She wanted to take it to the next level, but thought that he wasn't ready. He let out a breath. She thought that _he_ wasn't ready?

Why the hell had he been waiting for her to make the first move again?

Because it was Lil and if there was one thing she was, it was skittish. He watched her. Her eyes were still closed. He grinned wolfishly.

Well, all bets were off now. A strong tug on her arm brought her reeling into him. Her eyes opened and the soft noise of surprise she made as she collided with him had his blood heating up. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her on top of his chest, and started laughing.

Resting her forearms on his chest, she lifted herself up to look into his face, a frown tugging at her lips. "I fail to see the humor in this, Valens."

"Well, you were waiting and I…" he trailed off, his laughter starting to make his sides hurt.

"You?"

He managed to choke an answer out between his laughs. "Was doing the same."

Understanding dawned in her eyes and they began to twinkle dangerously. His laughter was abruptly cut off when her hands trailed down his sides to the bottom of his short, toying with the hem. He locked eyes with hers, his brown darkening almost imperceptibly at first.

"Maybe we should do something about that. Hmm?"

Instead of answering, he leaned forward and captured her lips in a heated kiss that was answer enough.

As his hands tangled in her blond hair, he knew that there would never be anything between them that stayed broken.

She had fixed him. He had put her pieces back together. Any problem they had would be tackled. He couldn't afford to have it any other way. He was never losing her.

Once more, he thanked God there had been witnesses who had seen her car go off the bridge and called for help immediately. That there had been a unit nearby and an ambulance pulled over for dinner in a close parking lot. That Lil had made it out of the car on her own, even if she then had to be pulled out of the water, unconscious.

That the CPR had worked.

That Lil had given him, _them_, a chance.

He owed the Big Man a lit candle.

He felt Lil's surprisingly warm hands creep under his shirt and brush against the skin of his stomach. Maybe more than one candle, actually.

Idly, he wondered if it was sacrilegious to think of lighting candles for God while engaging in sexual activities…Lil started to kiss her way down the side of his neck.

Damn…if God was a man, Scotty was sure He'd understand.


End file.
